Faire Ladies, Faire Lords

Quality, American-Made Renaissance Costumes

renaissance

UPDATE: The Green Linen Project

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UPDATE: The Green Linen Project

I don’t know where the time went, but here we are at last. The hunter green linen has landed!! That took a while, yes? If you don’t recall or maybe never knew, I’d been trying for a LONG TIME to source my linen and linen blends in Hunter Green. Here’s the original post about it.

Its really the MOST popular color in the Renfaire genre in my experience. But alas, it was nowhere to be found at a wholesale level. So, I figured out how to order a custom color from China. I got a few folks to invest/pre-buy and went halfsies with a fellow business owner. Add in the tariff hassles, and a lot of chaos because my importer up and moved their warehouse out of state with no notice right as the fabric got to Los Angeles. Its been exciting at the least. But, its here! Its a good linen/rayon blend, lightweight and with a good hand feel.

So far, I’ve got Venetian Breeches made up. Some are going on my website, some are going to faire this fall at Casa de Fruta. I’m in process of sewing linen shirts, and ladies skirts, and partlettes. All are going to faire this September.

There will be more, of course! I’m thinking ahead to the spring season having Doublets and Bodices in the Hunter Green Linen. I’m also branching out my sourcing and changing fabrics in a few areas – details to follow in another post. I should be sewing right now. I’ll be back.Patrick and I

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I am a costume designer specializing in renaissance faire and historical costumes. My shop name is Faire Ladies Faire Lords . I make the clothing in my shop at faire from linen and linen blends. The good stuff.

Bodices are back!

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Bodices are back in stock online, yay! You know the ones, the cotton twill square necked bodices featured in so much of my promotional images? These bodices are based on renaissance Tudor and Elizabethan styles I’ve been obsessed with since 2004. Hey that’s 20 years, we should have a party!

drawing by Cristof Weiditz, girl with an ermine apron square neck bodiceRenaissance art is such a wonderful resource for design, and its only gotten better since I started out. Back then, I had to order books from a paper catalog – it was all so niche and hard to find. Since then; Project Gutenberg has been busily scanning and uploading every single document, manuscript, book, catalog, etc. on the planet and made it free to the public. What a time to be alive and nerdy.

Any way, back to the bodices. I’m updating the listing NOW with more stock in those classy (and classic) garments. Black, blue, hunter green, and now burgundy. I’ll keep adding more all summer long. YOU CANNOT BUY THESE FROM ME AT A SHOW. THIS IS ONLINE ONLY. Bodices are Back, baby!

I am cautiously optimistic that I’ve got a stitcher properly trained to do things ‘my way’ aka the Right Way on this style. I’m still cutting, setting grommets, fussing with patterns and all – but what a relief to have some help with the actual stitches. Another YAY!

Share this with your friends, your guild mates, your cosplay people please? And as always if you need help or just want to get in touch, I’m on Facebook and you can email me here.

Linen Chemise Appreciation

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linen chemise with pink lace and ribbon detailEvery once in a while, I feel like highlighting one of my designs so you readers can find it and have some of The Good Stuff. Right now, that’s the Linen Chemise. I debuted this design in 2019 at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire and it sold out FAST.

I’m stocking the website for summer and just listed a batch of the Long Chemise and the Short Chemise too. Its in stock now and ready to ship. I’ll be filling in more inventory in the next few weeks so if you need to backorder don’t be shy.

My personal favorite is still the ivory with blue trim and ribbon. But I know not everyone dresses like I do so I have colors available too. Lilac with cream lace/ribbon, ivory with pink lace/ribbon and always the ivory with cream lace/ribbon.

I think we can all agree that at faire, a linen chemise is a mandatory for comfort in the heat, and the most comfortable  undergarment for your ladies renfaire outfit. Bonus: I designed these to emulate period patterns for a great historical look and for maximum comfort too.

The latest batch I made for faire are super cute, and one of the reasons that it can be work outside of faire. You may find yourself wearing it after hours by itself for lounging or as a nightgown. I do. Some of my clients tell me that with the right skirt and a boho belt, its fun to wear almost anyplace. Try it, summer is coming!

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ps. Yes you can totally wash these in the machine! Just hang them dry for best results. Enjoy!

Children’s renaissance costumes

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YES! You read that right, children’s renaissance costumes are coming back to my regular offerings in the booth this Spring 2023. Its been a while, I think two or three years. And conditions are right (again) for expanding my faire inventory with these hard to find pieces. Keep reading below to get the full story.

I got an intern this year! If you look at my facebook page, you’re likely to have seen me posting about that. Her name is Kayla and she comes to me by way of a referral from a faire friend we have in common. She sews, she’s artistic, motivated and best of all we get along well. She assisted me with the summer inventory build and also acted as my #2 at the booth during the fall faire season. All this and she wants to learn the business too. Huzzah!

So, one of the ways I know to teach sewing techniques and methods for adult costume is by making children’s versions of the garb. It makes sense, right? And it works well. I’ve done it before with students and its a win-win for both parties. They gain new skills, I gain salable children’s costume.

This past month or so, we’ve been taking commissions for custom work from clients. Like I do now and again. And one of my longtime friend/clients/faire buddies asked for an outfit for his new baby child. Said child will be a year old in the spring and *needs* a little outfit. This is what we came up with, its got room to grow and so so cute! Posted with permission from mom and dad of course. Dress, chemise, and a little biggins cap.

Even if your child isn’t as ridiculously photogenic as this baby, I’m certain we’ll be creating some great picture moments for you and your family at faire next year. Its going to stay simple; shirt, chemise, biggins, pants, vests, and little dresses. All will be made of linen and washable and fun.

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Kayla and I plan to be at The Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the spring of 2023, on Clothier’s Row. Look for the red/yellow striped roof. Meantime, you can find me here via email, on Facebook, and more blog posts.

Mom goes to renfaire

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Photo by Sydney Martin – thank you Sydney!!
Moms love renfaire

Are you one of those lucky people whose Mom goes to renfaire? With Mother’s Day coming right up, I wanted to put in a good word about things I make that I know will help convince your mom to come out and spend a day with you. If you’ve ever wanted to invite her to go to faire, now is the time. Everybody is so excited to spend quality time with their loved ones, so issue the invite and give her a gift for her that fits the occasion.

First up; clothing seems a very likely gift for your mom. Because I think we all agree that showing up in costume makes the adventure extra fun, extra amazing, extra extra. My personal recommendation, especially if your mom is a bit unsure is to get her a hat with a shady brim. Why? Well, you NEED a shade hat at faire. Its hot, sunny, dusty and heatstroke is not a great way to spend the day. Plus, its not a lot of $, but neither is it so expensive that you’re overdoing it. She can spend her shopping time finding feathers, pins, ribbons, all sorts of fun things to decorate your gift. OMG, get two and be twinsies!! Moms dig that kind of thing.

Second; accessories like a cloth pouch are also fun and easy. Again, this suggestion is based on affordability and practical use. What goes in pockets? Trinkets. And handses.. but mostly trinkets and there are a lot of them to see at renfaire. Now she can carry them away in triumph. You’re like the favorite child at this point.

Last, third, finally; think about a Gift Certificate. This gift is all about scalability. You can be frugal, you can be extravagant (think about that Favorite Child status), you can give her the gift of choosing the best costumes for herself. In her size, her favorite colors, all of it.

Meanwhile, please share this post with some friends and have them join my Insider’s Newsletter list by sending me a message. Insiders get neato discounts and coupons straight to their inbox as well as first notice of great things. You can also find me on Facebook.

Yes indeed, Mom goes to renfaire, because Mom always liked you best.